Hermes Cathedral, Babel Tower.
Mayne, who became the new Pope, quietly listened to the reports of the three bishops in the secret room.
In addition to the old Bishop Teflon, the two newly promoted Archbishops, Solly Dahl and El, are from the Judgment Army and the Arbitration Tribunal respectively. The former is a heroic and combative presiding judge who has served in the army for 25 years. Accumulated a very high reputation, the latter is Heather's adjutant, taking over the position of his predecessor can be said to be well-received.
"This year, the acceptance of the orphans in the Evil Moon and Eternal Winter has been very smooth. The nobles of various big cities have all turned to the church. At present, the number of people who have been sent to the old holy city has exceeded the planned plan," Teflon said with emotion, "This is also The only good news recently."
The nobles are like this. When they see that the situation is wrong, it is easier for them to defect than to drink water. Mayne nodded, "This is only the first year, and there will be more and more in the future. If we can occupy the entire continent, the number of people accepted each year can easily fill a new city."
"I hope so," he sighed. "Since the snow has fallen, we have encountered several large-scale attacks by evil beasts?"
"Six times," Solley replied.
"Six times... More than a hundred judgement warriors have fallen on the defense line," Teflon said in a heavy tone. "Ten people from the God's Punishment Army also died, and in the coming year, the offensive of the evil beasts will only be more ferocious."
"It's easier than fighting the devil," El said, spreading his hands. "Although I haven't seen how powerful the devil is, the holy books seem to describe them as invincible. I said, really Do you have to stay here until the end?"
"What do you mean by that!" Suo Li frowned. "The gods pointed us in the direction and gave us strength. As believers, instead of sticking to our beliefs here, we have to turn around and run away?"
"Stop arguing," Mayne tapped on the scepter. El had worked with Heather for more than ten years, and he also had an outspoken temper. Looking at the two of them, he couldn't help but think of the old pair of Teflon and Heather. He looked at the old bishop, and found that the latter was also looking at him, and it seemed that he thought of the same scene. "Our ultimate purpose is the continuation of humanity, and to achieve this, there is no other way than to defeat the enemy."
"Yes, Your Majesty," the two bowed their heads respectfully.
But he was not sure whether he could defeat the devil by sticking to Hermes.
Thinking of O'Brien's exhortation, Mayne felt a heavy weight on his shoulders.
The dread beast of hell has appeared, and the devil will sweep in in five years. He will witness this battle of divine will in his lifetime, and he will not be able to entrust the task to the next successor like O'Brien. Whenever he thinks about this, it makes him feel uncomfortable.
In fact, he also thought of leaving a way out for himself. After swallowing Garcia's fleet of Black Sails, he did not order the burning of the ships and publicly hang all the rebels, but imprisoned them all. Except for a few leaders and a large number of scapegoats from the slums who were pushed to the execution ground, most of the sailors are now in Everwinter Harbor, guarded by their most reliable men.
If the line of defense is completely lost, the fjords will be the last refuge, even if retreating to the islands of the straits means staying alive, there is no possibility of turning over, at least you can spend the rest of your life.
After all, humanity has tried twice as hard as it can and can't beat its opponent, has it
In the follow-up discussions on how the church should develop and stabilize Wolfheart's rule, Mayne didn't listen to much, and when the three of them finished discussing, he answered absentmindedly, "Just do as you said, today's meeting ends here. ."
"As ordered, Your Majesty." The three bishops stood up and saluted.
Mayne left the secret room and walked to the secret area accompanied by the guards.
According to the plan, a new batch of Judgment Army will be transformed into God's Punishment Army today, and this is the focus of his concern. Whether holding on or retreating, these mighty warriors are the greatest guarantee that their orders will be carried out.
Before that, though, he has one additional nuisance to deal with.
After stepping on the first step of the stone stairs, Mayne entered the secret agency and turned into the prison corridor in the middle of the agency. The last time I came here, it was for the secret execution of King Wimbledon III of Greycastle.
The long corridor was still extremely cold and inviting, the turpentine torches burning on both sides emitted a dim yellow light, and the end of the aisle was dark, as if it was the entrance to the bottomless abyss. After many people were imprisoned, they could not leave this place until they died.
Mayne walked to Room 85 and motioned for the guard to open the cell door.
The heavy wooden door made a harsh rubbing sound, and there was a burst of wailing and crying in this dead place, but as the prison door was closed again, all the screams were isolated from the outside.
Across the iron railing, he saw Zero's figure.
The Pure One was facing the entrance, his upper body was naked, his hands were tied to the iron bars above his head, and he had to stand on tiptoe to be able to touch the ground. There are dozens of bright red whip marks on the white back, and the blood flowing down has solidified.
"How does the Tribunal's whipping feel like?" Mayne asked. "Hopefully this will help you understand what it means to obey."
"Well..." Zero groaned, as if she had woken up from a dream, and tilted her head slightly, "It turns out that the Pope was crowned. When you say obedience, do you mean obedience to you or to other bishops as well. Respectful attitude?"
Her slightly frivolous tone made Mayne frown, but when she thought that she was now under the crown of the Pope, which was very different from the position of bishop before, she suppressed the displeasure in her heart. After this lesson, she should also understand that she now has the right to take life and death over her, "It is to obey my orders. When I ask you to assist other bishops in completing their tasks, you must also obey their orders. ."
"Is that so?" she said noncommittally. "Since you asked for it, I will naturally do it."
"Untie her handcuffs," Mayne told the guard.
After a long period of torture, her hands were almost pulled and dislocated, and they drooped softly, seemingly without any strength. The Pope lifted her clothes with the scepter and threw it on her shoulder, "I have a task for you to do next, come with me."
Zero put her clothes on in front of her and followed him out of the prison corridor nonchalantly.
"This year, the evil moon is likely to last as long as five months, which is a daunting challenge for the Holy City, especially for other places affected by the evil moon," Mayne walked to the end of the agency area and walked through the long and narrow In the iron-walled passage, he came to the lifting cage again. Since he was crowned as Pope, he has been busy with various matters in the church, and now it is the first time he has set foot here as the leader. "I order you and the other pure people to go to the Kingdom of Greycastle and take advantage of the chaos brought about by the heavy snow to destroy the rebels, Tifeko Wimbledon and Roland Wimbledon. Do you understand?"
The door of the hanging cage was closed, and the sound of the winch turning came from overhead, and the cage began to slowly descend, but he did not hear the other party's answer.
Damn it, it seems that this flogging has not made her behave, Mayne turned around with a sullen face, only to see Zero's mouth raised, her eyes flashing with a dangerous light.
Then a dim light rushed towards him.
(.)